Maintaining visual identity with Flaticon icons

A brand grows and generates loyalty when it is easy to recognize. This is achieved through both its visual consistency and that of the accompanying content. Users, customers and consumers make connections built on association and memory at every point of contact with a brand. 

When it comes to design, a brand’s visual identity is law. Every business card, email, infographic or Twitter graphic must follow the brand’s style guide. 

That’s why, when it comes to generating content, maintaining visual identity is important in the logo, colors, typography… and also in the icons! 

The importance of maintaining visual identity consistently

Why is it essential to maintain a visual identity? The first reason to create and follow a brand style guide is that every design or touchpoint must be recognizable and associated with the brand. 

How is this achieved? By establishing a set of standards that define the use of colors, typography and even the style of icons to be used. By complying with these, we ensure that the visual identity is clearly transmitted through the different content and touchpoints between the brand and the consumer.

In this article, we will show you how you can use Flaticon to define the use of icons within a brand manual.

How are icons organized in Flaticon?

Usually, when you enter Flaticon to search for icons for a word or concept, you get results in all the available styles, and you choose the one you like the most from among them. But there is a more targeted way of searching using the filters available which will be especially useful when you are following a brand style guide.

To begin with, the icons in Flaticon are organized as follows:

• • Icons
    • Black / Color / Gradient
    • Outline / Fill / Linear with color / Hand Drawn
  • Interface Icons
    • Regular / Bold (with thick strokes) / Solid
    • Rounded (with rounded corners) / Straight (with angular corners)
  • Animated Icons
    • Basic Accent Outline Color (in outline with a tonic color)

As you can see, the icons in Flaticon offer a huge number of options. From simple icons outlined with a color, to full color icons or with special styles. You can just look for the ones that interest you the most. 

At the same time, there are also groups of icons created by the same designer or in themed packages. For example, if you search for medical icons, you will find single icons in different styles and also medical themed packs, which include a set of different icons on the subject.

The best thing about these themed packs is that all the icons in the pack are designed in the same style. So, if you’re looking for icons in Flaticon that have a visual consistency according to a style guide, it’s easy to do! 

For example, if the brand you’re designing for is sleek, simple and minimalist, the icons you should be looking for are those that are outlined or filled in a single color. You can even change the shade of the icon in Flaticon’s online editor before downloading it. You just need to know the HEX code of the color you want to use.

Similarly, if your brand is colorful, fun and young, you can use hand-drawn, full-color style icons. Here is how to organize the icons you choose.

Collections, a useful resource within Flaticon

There are two ways to find and use collections in Flaticon. One is to use the packs already created by our designers. The other is the user collections feature that allows you to create your own collections of icons. 

This feature will be of great help in keeping your icons visually consistent and making sure you are following the brand guidelines at a glance. 

When you log in to your Flaticon account, you will see a tab at the top right called “collections”. In this area you will be able to create collections of the icons of your choice. Give a descriptive name to each one so you know what it’s for and organize the collections as you see fit. For example, create a collection with icons you want to use just for the interface of an app, or a collection with icons specifically about health.

Once you have a collection ready, you can download it as a .zip file to your computer. 

If you are looking for icons to complement others you already have, you can upload SVG icons to your collections. For example, let’s say you already have a couple of medical icons, but you need several more to finish the design. In Flaticon’s collections tab, there is a button to upload SVG files. Upload the icons you already have and finish the collection before downloading it as a complete file. This makes it easier to organize your icons.

Icons in the visual identity manual

It is essential for a brand manual to include a section on icons. With the wide variety of content being created every day, icons form an important part of the resources for designers. Whether a brand plans to produce web pages, infographics, or presentation slides, designers will need a guide of icons to follow.

Since the foundation of a visual identity is consistency, including a section on icons in the brand style guide is key to growth and recognition. Use Flaticon’s functions to search for, find, collect and download icons in the same style. This will resolve a very important aspect of branding: visual consistency.

What are you waiting for? Start producing icon collections for your designs! With all the features at your disposal in Flaticon, you will be able to collect a group of icons of the same style and visual consistency, and even edit them online in a very simple way. Let’s get down to it!